


Let It Be Me

by sleepismyfriend



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-08-09
Updated: 2009-08-09
Packaged: 2017-10-10 21:30:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepismyfriend/pseuds/sleepismyfriend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who lets their best friend save the universe all by themselves?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let It Be Me

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt was _you are my best friend._ from the alt title of a 'A Softer World' comic. #419

As she stood on the platform, Sarah closed her eyes and inhaled the white energy as it flowed through her. The sensations the energy created was unlike anything she had ever experienced before, bathing her in the particles she knew to be quite volatile yet quite soothing. Her skin felt the surge of energy, felt the power behind them, and suddenly as if they were a being of their own, she heard their words speaking into places within her that she didn't know she had places. When she opened her eyes a moment later, she found the Doctor standing in front of her, staring into her eyes.

"Please, don't," Sarah said softly, ignoring the others standing below watching them. "I know what I look like. Doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

The Doctor watched her for a moment, knowing her thoughts without even having to hear them as he looked away. The look in his eyes changed, and no longer did she see the brown eyes of the skinny young man she had become accustomed to after all these years. Underneath several layers of pasts, she finally saw her Doctor, the curls and the scarf long since gone but still there inside his eyes.

It had been a lifetime ago that they had faced countless enemies together; a lifetime since she had walked off the TARDIS only to find herself in Aberdeen rather than South Croydon. She had made a life for herself since she had met up with him again, with her young son and just as young companions. All of their faces, their smiles and their tears invaded her memory.

"You don't have to do this," the Doctor said, turning to face her, taking hold of her by her forearms. He didn't have to tell her the consequences of absorbing the brilliant white energy; he had the feeling that she all ready knew.

"I know," Sarah replied, a small smile appearing as she tried to lighten the situation.

"Please, Sarah," the Doctor's voice changed, going deeper than Sarah had ever heard before. Suddenly, Sarah felt the energy of both of his hearts soaring into hers and it damn near took her breath away. Never before had she felt such a force within her, from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet.

She tried to smile when she felt his energy circling her heart, gently forming a bubble around it as he projected all the emotions in his chest that he could never have formed into words. Sarah reclosed her own eyes then, trying to let go of her heart as much as she could from the inside, feeling the energetic pull of it away from her as it soared across to him and formed its own bubble among his hearts.

_"If you could,"_ she said, their hearts and spirits and mind connected to wipe away their need for actual words. Her palms lay flat against his chest. _"Just for a moment."_

The Doctor nodded, closing his own eyes. His hands moved upward, touching his hands to her temples before cradling her face in his hands. Sarah felt the change of the energy around them shift, pulling all of the space around her and strengthening the bond between them.

_"If I meant anything to you at all. Please, don't do this,"_ he replied softly.

_"That's why I have to,"_ Sarah's eyes opened, and suddenly an older version of her Doctor, curls, scarf, and all appeared in front of her. White curls framed his face, his big crooked nose sticking out as much as ever. The scarf of assorted colors surrounded the neck of his brown suit, and she felt a sense of relief ebb out of her. Tears formed in her eyes but didn't fall as the happiness flowed between them. _"You really did it..."_

_"Thought I'd level the playing field a bit,"_ the Doctor smiled, the deep wonderful sound of his old voice resonating through her as her hands touched the side of his older weathered face. _"Can't have people always thinking you're old enough to be my mum."_

_"No, no we certainly can't,"_ Sarah would have laughed, except a smile was all she seemed to be able to manage. It was then that she felt the power of the energy growing stronger, and knew that there wasn't much time left. Her hands moved down to his shoulders, and she pulled him as close as she could as his arms surrounded her.

_"Take care of Luke,"_ Sarah's inner voice was at a near whisper as her head felt both of his hearts physically beating next to her ear. She thought of her young alien son, and did her best not to encourage even bigger tears as small ones made their way down her cheeks. _"He'll need someone…"_

"Alright," he replied, moving his head down to whisper the words almost inaudibly into the top of her head. Inhaling her scent as much as possible, he knew that their time was drawing to a close. Sarah felt it as well, shifting her head so that her forehead touched his neck and she took a deep breath.

"Thank you," Sarah murmured, looking up for a moment.

"Welcome," the Doctor murmured back, a single tear falling as he rested his cheek atop her head. His arms, strong and firm simply held her as tight as he could, and Sarah didn't need a verbal explanation of his true emotions. In all of the years that she had known him, his intentions were never as clear as they were right in this moment.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah wiped away most of the tears with one hand before she replied softly. "Right then, okay. Allons-y!"

If the Doctor had been anywhere else, he probably would have found amusement at Sarah Jane's choice of words. As it was, he smiled, closing his eyes and holding on tight. He wasn't about to leave her.

Closing her own eyes, Sarah thought she would feel the pull of his hearts leave hers as she focused all her energy on absorption. However, she didn't feel his hearts ever leave hers as she felt her spirit beginning to fill with the particles. She felt the shift throughout her body as the light outside of them remained as bright as ever. Slowly, she felt her body begin to fade just a tiny bit.

The Doctor felt her grip on him tighten. He tried shielding her from the brunt of the energy, taking on many of the particles himself to spare her the pain. He knew he could flush them from his body later. However, he soon felt his own resolve slipping as the appearance of his former fourth self that he so carefully crafted with began to unravel and he felt his tenth self slowly returning. He struggled, trying to hold onto the image, trying to hold on to Sarah as much as he possibly could.

_"Don't give up. Hold on, my Sarah Jane,"_ he said, almost begging as he saw the pain start to affect her. Her body began shaking slightly as her grip tightened. _"I'm here, I won't let go. Hold on."_

From a relative distance, it's a sight unlike anything that anyone has ever seen or will ever see again. The particles swarmed the Doctor and Sarah Jane, but they remained standing steady wrapped around each other as one. Martha and Donna held the younger group of Clyde, Rani, and Luke back, as they watched. Their hands shielded most of the light from their eyes, but it still hurt to watch even without the light.

"What the hell is he doing?" Clyde said, trying to peer beyond the edge of the white light only to barely see their features among their dark silhouettes. "He doesn't even look like himself!"

"He's using the energy of the particles," Luke replied, looking away to look over at Clyde for a second. "He somehow managed to extrapolate the energy in order to temporarily transform himself. I'm not familiar with his physiology. I don't have exact answers."

"There's no time for this!" Rani shouted. "We've got to get them out of here!"

Donna quickly grabbed Rani's arm as Rani stepped forward, and calmly said to the girl. "No, leave them alone. Those particles are just as dangerous to you as they are to them. Can't you see? The Doctor and Sarah know what they're doing. Look at them. They're absorbing the energy between the two of them. Right now, even if we could, there's still nothing we can do. They're saving us all."

"But it's going to kill her!" Luke shouted next at Donna, and she turned her attention towards him. "That's my mum up there! I'm not stupid! I know what those particles are made of! Her body cannot handle processing that kind of energy!"

"Luke," Martha said calmly, putting her arm around his shoulder for comfort more than anything. "I know what you're saying. But right now, we just have to trust them, okay?"

"She's right," Donna paused, watching them for only a split second before turning back to the teenagers. "We have to give them a chance."

"Give them a chance? They're soaking up particles like some kind of sponge!" Clyde replied rather anxiously. He had seen a lot of strange things in and out of his normal universe. This was just another one to add to his collection of 'things that are strange and crazy and go with saving the world'. "Do you know what happens when a sponge gets full of water? It gets heavy and needs another sponge. We could get sucked in next!"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Rani replied, disgust across her face as she crossed her arms. "How stupid."

"Stupid, huh?" Clyde said, pointing his finger at her. "Who do you think helped defeat the Slitheen the first time around? Oh, wait, it wasn't you!"

"Can it, both of you!" Donna said, getting annoyed with Clyde and Rani. This wasn't the time for teenage squabbles. Martha's arm remained across Luke's shoulder, wanting to help the boy as much as she could knowing that he was struggling with the sight, and trying to empathize with him as much as possible. She knew what was probably going to happen from the minute that the Doctor jumped on the platform, but she wasn't about to let the others know her hypothesis.

Rani and Clyde argued for another moment with Donna telling them both to shut up while the Doctor's fourth self was almost gone. Sarah felt the differences of one Doctor to the next, and it didn't surprise her at all as the pain continued to worsen. Her body's nerve endings that had started out tingly and soothing in the beginning were beginning to feel like they were on fire as the particles flowed through her. Sarah remained ever so vigilant at focusing her thoughts, not straying far from the energy except to think of Luke standing below and wishing that somehow she could survive for him.

_"My Sarah Jane,"_ the Doctor said, his tenth inner voice finally returning as his facial features finally returned to their normal state. _"I…"_

The words caught in his throat, and Sarah smiled. She knew from the bubble surrounding their hearts together what he was really trying to acknowledge, and it wasn't fair that it was only coming out now. However, she didn't need the verbalization of it to make it real. She had known it, after so many years of being apart and then reunited for such a short time.

_"Me too,"_ Sarah's weak voice gnawed at the pit of his stomach before sinking even deeper into him. _"I wish I had never left that day and had just spent the rest of life with you for whatever time I could. Even with all of the good and all of the bad. Maybe we would have found Luke together."_

_"Maybe,"_ the Doctor smiled at the thought of Luke being their joint discovery, and only for a moment did they both feel the happiness flow between them again as a picture of their family at any age came into his head, and for the first time in a long time, he didn't feel the heavy guilt of the Time War in his chest. _"Or maybe a family of our own. Maybe we wouldn't have found Luke, but found other children of our own. My brains with your beauty. Certainly couldn't go wrong with that."_

_"Mmm… I would have liked that,"_ Sarah sighed.

_"Me too,"_ the Doctor knew his soothing tone would not be enough as he held her close for comfort. Sarah then exhaled, and that's when the Doctor felt her body go slack. He felt her heart pulling away from his, slowly and painfully like a body drowning in quicksand. The light, the brilliant light that had been a bubble in itself around them was suddenly gone. The Doctor felt his knees buckle under him as he lowered to the platform with Sarah still protectively in his arms.

No one dared approaching at first, though they did approach carefully from a distance. As soon as they got within hearing range, they could hear his grief.

"I can't feel your heart," he whispered almost inaudibly as his voice cracked, his head atop hers as he rocked back and forth with her and tears fell down his face. "It was right there, right there all tangled up in mine, and now it's not there... It's not there, Sarah Jane."

Donna looked to Martha, who looked back at her for a second in acknowledgment before looking away. Immediately, Donna looked to the other three, who all had the same look on their faces. None of them wanted to actually approach him like this. Luke felt Rani entwine her fingers with his, holding as tight as she possibly could as he turned his head enough to see Clyde wiping an actual tear away. Martha took her arm away from Luke and let his friends comfort him.

"You always managed to find a bit of trouble, didn't you?" the Doctor said, the tears streaming down his face as he stared outward in front of him. "You were good for that, you know… Always traveling along, finding something to stick your nose in. God, you were so brilliant and yet so terrified of things most of the time."

Donna took a deep breath and stepped forward, taking the few short stairs to the platform where they were. Lowering herself down, she patiently waited for him to finish speaking.

"Did you know she was my best friend?" The Doctor looked at Donna, lifting his head as she saw the long fallen tears stuck to his cheeks. He looked at her for only a split second before looking to Sarah's face and cradled her in his arms. "In all of creation and time and the universe, she was the one I called my best friend. Who lets their best friend save the universe all by themselves, hmm?"

"She did," Donna managed to squeeze in with a sympathetic smile, effectively cutting him off before he could say anything else. The other three watched patiently as Donna spoke. "Many times, in fact. Against the Daleks, and the Cybermen, and a thousand other aliens who tried to take this planet. She learned from watching you that you can't just stand by and do nothing as people destroy the things you love."

Donna watched him for another moment as his tears fell before realization dawned, and suddenly, the Doctor's head shot up. "What?"

"Stand by, you can't just standby...Donna Noble, you brilliant soul!" the Doctor exclaimed with a sudden idea on the brain. "Quickly, help me get her to the TARDIS! We may be able to save Sarah Jane yet!"


End file.
